H’lib Dzair

86% of Algerian dairy producers are smallholder farmers with fewer than ten cows. Dairy farmers represent 30% of all farmers in Algeria – totaling 300,000 fairy farmers out of one million – which means that accompanying them is central to building an autonomous and resilient food system in Algeria.

Algeria heavily relies on imported milk powder and now imports more milk powder than any country except China, with only 55% of its milk consumption covered by local production. To improve its food security, the Algerian Government has recently taken steps to prioritize the development of domestic dairy production and decrease reliance on imported milk powder.

Yet, the Algerian dairy sector faces several challenges: Low milk production rates, with an average yield of around 12 liters per cow per day; lower quality, requiring the addition of protein and fat from other sources, increasing costs; limited technical knowledge and managerial expertise among smallholder farmers; limited local production of animal feed, resulting in difficulties managing production costs; and challenges in obtaining funding and acquiring necessary equipment for farmers.

The project, led by Danone Ecosystem alongside GIZ and Danone, provides to Algerian smallholder farmers with comprehensive support through 3 pillars, each at the farm level: Training, mentoring and finance.

The project has trialed various ways to reduce feed costs, assists farmers in obtaining access to agricultural supplies and credit advances on government subsidies, and works with them to explore new streams of income.

H’lib Dzair works with actors across the entire farm ecosystem to support smallholder farmers activities at distribution level, notably through the creation of 67 Milk Collection Centers., Since 2014, roughly 2,700 dairy farmers have participated and 10,800 indirect beneficiaries have been impacted by the project.

H’lib Dzair operates accross 22 Wilayas (Provinces) in the north of Algeria.